


A week for the Lion and the Mage

by charliepoet13



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fluff, LoLu Week, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliepoet13/pseuds/charliepoet13
Summary: Lolu week 2020. Seven prompts for my favourite Spirit and Mage.
Relationships: Lucy Heartfilia/Loke
Comments: 24
Kudos: 36





	1. Lion

**Author's Note:**

> It's time to do this again, man that's gone by fast! I'll do my best to upload once a day!

They’d been too clumsy, not focused enough as they baraged through the target dark guild, sending their foes flying into the dark, starry sky. Summoning Loke had seemed like overkill at the time, but she’d wanted this to be over with as soon as possible. She wanted to be at home in a nice hot bath then dirty and sweaty in a dense forest. It had seemed the rest of the team agreed, or maybe they were just overconfident. Whatever the reason, their sloppy treatment of this quest had led to them missing one member hiding in the brush and her current predicament.

Who she was kidding?  _ Predicament?!  _ She was doing her best to not shake, otherwise the knife pressed against her neck would bite deeper into her skin. She could feel beads of sweat and blood roll down her skin as fear had her frozen in her captor’s grip. The knife pressed harder against her as she heard a gruff voice by her ear.

“Stay back. Come any closer and her blood decorates the floor. I know how close knit you goody goody guilds are. I’m sure you’ll all be weeping and tripping over yourselves if even the most useless of all you lot die. I wonder how you’ll scream when she hits the dirt”

She flinched at the disturbing mental image of her dead body rotting in the mud, a deep gash in her neck and lifeless eyes. The blade scratched at her as she struggled instinctively, desperate to live.

“Lucy, please stop, you’ll cut youself!”

“We’ll free you, we promise!”

“I’m sure you will, as long as you make the smart choice and stay away. Come on, move woman”

A strong arm pulled her back, forcing her to step slowly back, away from the worried expressions from her frustrated friends. Any small sign that they were about to use magic and it’d be over before they got close enough to do anything. They’d have to let her go, at least until they could think of a plan. 

As she stepped back, shaking on uneasy legs, she felt a pulse of magic from her keys. A strong force that shot through her, startling her as it suddenly was taking more energy to keep Loke summoned. 

She focused her gaze onto her spirit, surprised to see he had lowered his head, face hidden from view as he clenched his fists tightly to his sides. He was clearly struggling with the desire to protect her, the desire that was knitted into his very being, it came as natural to him and all other spirits as breathing. She tried to cool him down, to send him comforting thoughts through their Celestial bond, but it was like he was blocking her, or maybe ignoring her, refusing to let her be dragged away.

She was starting to panic as her mind started to come up with worst case scenarios in which his anger caused them both to end up stabbed, When all of a sudden her kidnapper stopped, pausing as he looked around, listening to something.

“Are there wild animals around?”

It wasn’t until he’d pointed it out that she noticed a low growl piercing the tense atmosphere. An angry rumble that promised pain upon its victims. The grip on her loosened, the knife moving away as he was distracted by the prospect of a savage attack.

Before she could take advantage of the moment, he let out a loud scream of pain, one that rang out in her ears. He stumbled away from her, revealing the back of his shirt was torn, lines of red etched into his skin, as if he’d been clawed at viciously. Panic once more filled her as she spun around, expecting to see a savage creature, but instead was startled at the sight of a furious Loke, malice exuding from him and polluting the air around him. She almost yelled when she noticed his fingers, bright claws of light had appeared on the tips of his fingers, the blood staining them confirming he was behind the attack. How had he done that? She hadn’t seen him move! His prey was equally shocked, stumbling around to face him, confusion clear on his face.

“How? How did you-”

“You underestimated Leo while his stars are in the night sky? A fatal mistake I’d say”

She shared a glance with her friends, who were watching the new development with wariness, unsure of what Loke was up to, before they cautiously looked up. His stars were indeed up there, lighting up the black expanse with their brilliance. She hadn’t even realised the constellations had shifted, time had really run away from her. She heard quiet gasps as they noticed that they were shining brighter than they ever had. The constellation was clear as it bore down its power onto the planet. He stalked closer and for a moment his form changed.

It was strange to watch, as his whole body flickered and sort of shifted to the left as he walked, like his whole self couldn’t be contained in his current form. Before he started glowing, bathed in golden light. Her heart stopped as she stood in awe. A celestial lion padded through the muddy overgrowth, walking proud with the stars under his skin and a mane of starlit fur. The only place where the stars didn’t appear and disappear over his body as they swirled around it was his chest, where the symbol of Leo shimmered above his heart. As it walked light appeared underneath it’s paws as they landed on the ground.

Then just as the stark image appeared, it vanished. Loke stood in its place, glowering at his opponent. His now golden eyes were framed by a fierce scowl, curled lips revealed sharp fangs.

“Let me make myself clear. Threaten the life of my owner, of Lucy, on a normal day and you’re in trouble. Threaten her on a night when my stars are at their closest to this world, where I can use the maximum amount of my power possible while i’m here, and it’s practically  _ suicide” _

The viterol in his usually cheerful and friendly voice spooked her out of her awe, the true realisation of what he was had astounded her. She found herself stepping closer to him, rather than away, feeling safer around him, instead of the fear she should rationally be feeling. Deep down, in her heart, she knew this lion would never bear its fangs at her. He noticed her coming to him, standing beside him and seemed to calm down enough to give her a small, acknowledging nod. The moment didn’t last.

The man tried to go for his knife, a stupid mistake, and proceeded to set him off again. The growls coming rapidly from his throat now, unable or unwilling to control them. Magic pulsed from him, almost knocking her off her feet, as he flickered once more, his physical form the only barrier stopping his power from overflowing and consuming the entire dark guild.

“I will only warn you once, you’ve lost, put it down and give up” 

“I’d listen to him, we can't stop him from punishing criminals who hurt those he cares about. Besides, you’re surrounded”

Gray calmly walked over, followed by the others as they stood, waiting for him to make his choice. Sense finally seemed to come to him as he raised his hands, dropping his weapons, both in his hand and sheathed at his hips. Erza confidently strolled over, like they hadn’t just almost lost complete control of the situation and apprehended him. If she was maybe a little too harsh forcing him to move with her, well no one seemed to want to say anything. Their friends took careful glances at Loke, before deciding it was safe to leave her with him, gathering up all the guild members in one place to wait for the Rune knights to show up. She turned to Loke to thank him for his quick action when he faltered, almost tipping over. She acted quickly, holding his arm and allowing him to lean on her as he caught his breath. The magic that naturally cloaked the Celestial spirits had been going wild and untameable, but now was worryingly the opposite. It was a weak thrum that barely pulsed through him and he was completely spent. 

“Loke, are you alright?!”

He waved her off, even as he leaned his head against hers, unable to fully keep it up. Wasn’t exactly filling her with confidence that he was fine.

“Just used a ton of magic that’s all. Spirits aren’t really supposed to go all out like that unless there’s an emergency. I think I’m going to have to rest for a bit after this, I’m sorry Lucy”

“That’s fine! You must have used a stupid amount of energy...Why though? I’m not sure that counted as such a terrible emergency”

“He could have easily lied and killed you the moment we were out of sight” His grip on her tightened, shaking against her. From exhaustion or relief she wasn’t sure. Her hand resting on his, a comforting weight that he really needed. “I wasn’t going to let that happen, not while I had the power to prevent it, even if it was going to really knock me out afterwards. This hangover-like feeling is worth it to make sure you don’t die. I’d have a lifetime of hangovers then let you get hurt”

“Well, I won’t let you do that. We’re equal partners, I won’t let you suffer on my behalf. I’ll just have to keep a closer eye on my surroundings”

He nodded absentmindedly as he got his head comfy in the crook of her shoulder.

“We all do...Honest opinion. Was I a badass in my Celestial form or what? I know you saw it, though it was only brief. I really had to keep a stop on the magic that almost flooded out to protect you”

She thought it over, remembering the majestic form of the shining lion. She had seen the universe showing out from under his skin and it had captivated her. The shining, glowing mane was beautiful, the golden eyes powerful yet open. It had been a striking figure, but could she really tell him that?...He’d earned it.

“You were amazing Loke, beautiful even. I kinda wanted to run my fingers through your fur”

He chuckled, surprised into a laugh.

“I wouldn’t mind that. Laying in the stars with you laying on me and stroking my fur...or maybe behind my ears...yeah that sounds nice...real nice”

He was leaning harder and harder against her, eyes slipping closed as his body relaxed, relying on her to keep him up. She gently patted his cheek, trying to keep him awake.

“You’re definitely tired, you’re rambling. You need to go and get some rest”

“Want you to come with me, be in the stars with me”

His eyes opened, wide and honest as he looked up at her with open pleading. He truly wanted this...a part of her could admit she wanted it to. Another part was brave enough to admit it to an exhausted man who probably wouldn’t remember this conversation.

“I really want to too Loke. I would love to see your Leo form, to get to see how you truly are, the side of you that has to be restricted and locked away while you’re on Earthland. But I can't, I can’t survive in your world”

“Can with a dress”

“Well yeah but then there's the time difference. I could be gone months from Fairytail. It wouldn’t be fair”

He let out a small whine in protest, but had to concede her point. 

“Fine, I’ll go back alone today, but one day Lucy...one day please…”

She clung to him, even as he started to vanish, returning to the spirit world. She couldn’t let him go without confirmation, without saying the words in her heart.

“One day, I’ll go see my lion in the stars”


	2. Another Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new cat is introduced into Loke's territory, he is not best pleased with this development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Mistress1296 for the prompt! I enjoyed writing this one.

She scratched the furry ear beneath her, finding a primal joy in the responding purr. There was something incredibly relaxing in the vibrations, an instinct she probably gained from having a lion for a boyfriend, from long days spent laying together and revelling in his relaxed pleasure.

She shook her head, shaking away thoughts of her lover as she looked down at the orange ball of fur currently resting on her lap. A large tabby was currently taking up the space, eyes closed in bliss as she continued her ministrations. His head rubbed up against her hand, encouraging her and speaking it’s acceptance of her affection. It was so cute.

“You’re such a lovely kitty aren’t you?”

The purr got louder in response to her joyful tone. Yes, this was a good kitty and he knew it. A fat, well looked after spoiled little kitty who deserved all of her love and care.

“Hello my love, you’re back early aren’t you?”

She had felt the Celestial spirit magic swirl behind her and wasn’t surprised by the sudden appearance of Loke in the room, standing a little ways behind her.

“There were only small jobs left on the board, so we’re not going on any adventures today”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me, it just means I get to spend more time with youuuuu…”

He trailed off as he walked around the sofa she was sat on, eyes darting down to her lap as he frowned darkly at her. It was such a sudden shift in mood it took her by surprise, what had upset him so much?

“Are you alright?” 

“What. Is. _That?_ ”

He pointed down at the tabby, currently looking up at her, pleading for her attention to return to him. He nudged her with his head, causing Loke to bristle, somehow looking angrier.

“A cat?”

“I can see that. What is it doing _here?”_

What was his problem? He was tense as he stared down the uninterested cat, not blinking as he watched its every movement.

“A small job to help supplement my income, make sure I don’t come into any money problems. A nice old lady is spending her first day out in a good while, she didn’t want her sweet little Simba to be all on his own”

“Simba?”

He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the name choice. She thought he’d appreciate the coincidence, but something else seemed to be on his mind.

“Yup, this lovely little guy, come say hello. Isn’t he so handsome?”

“...Just marvelous”

He muttered darkly under his breath as he plopped down next to her, cuddling up against her, an arm slung around her and pressing her against him. His eyes never left Simba, who was now staring back at him.

“Are you alright? You seem a little tense”

“Just fine Luc-sssss”

He cut himself off with a hiss, glaring at the tabby. She looked down to see he was rubbing against her stomach, rubbing his scent all over her. With a quick glance to the hissing Loke, he started to knead into her lap, claiming it. The noise from Loke got worse, louder and more insidious as he started to bare his teeth. 

She was startled into sitting up straight, but she couldn’t move from him. His grip on her had tightened, refusing to let her leave him. She looked up into his furious gaze and was shocked to see his pupils had changed into slits, rage on display in them.

“Loke! Stop it! What’s the matter with you?”

At the nervous undertone in her voice he paused, eyes darting between the two of them, before he seemed to come to a decision. In one swift motion he swiped with his arm and pushed the yowling cat off of her lap, quickly sitting in it instead, curling up as he laid against her chest, nuzzling her cheek. The anger was initially blocked by disbelief, to the point that when it finally came she was more annoyed and disappointed with him than anything else. She tried to push him off but he clung tight to her, mewling his displeasure. Wait...mewling?

“What..Why did you do that?”

The hissing and growling morphed his voice, making it gruffer, more feral.

“I don’t share my Lucy with overgrown rats!”

Poor Simba had recovered now as it looked up at Loke, responding with loud screeches of its own. His feet were spread out and his claws visible in warning. His whole body puffed up, his tail in the air and also puffed out in rage. This just seemed to set off her own giant cat as he hissed down at it, threatening it with suddenly sharp fangs. What in the world…? He was acting more like an animal than the gentleman she knew. 

Wait a minute he was a lion!

She groaned as it hit her like a ton of bricks, his feline instincts had taken over, pushing him to react harshly to this perceived threat.

“Are you jealous?”

He huffed, puffing himself up to appear threatening to the cat on the floor.

“He was claiming you as his territory. This vile vermin thought you were his! I will have no male solicitate you in such a way, human or cat!”

“While I appreciate the sentiment Loke, a cat is no threat to you”

“It could be. You could decide you want a smaller feline in your life”

Considering the trouble just temporarily looking after one had caused, she highly doubted that. She was getting the feeling she was slowly becoming a dog person. She sighed as she shook her head, arms moving to cradle him against her.

“I’m not about to replace you, ok Loke? This is our home, I love you, you’ll always be welcome here.”

He purred as he nuzzled her neck, appeased by her words and actions, by finally being in her arms. Unfortunately for her, he couldn’t just appreciate the moment, turning his head to pull his tongue out at the cat.

“You heard her pest. This is our house not yours. She loves me, not you. Go away”

He flailed his foot at Simba, shooing him away but thankfully not hitting him, she really didn’t need any complaints, though Loke would absolutely be the one apologising and getting scolded, she would not bear that burden for him. Simba batted his foot in response, the pair glaring daggers at each other, before the cat trotted off in a very clear huff, the loser in their stare down. But if she knew felines (and she would like to think she did), this would not be the end of it. Still, her kitty cat seemed pleased by the victory, an obnoxiously loud purr rumbling through them as he vigorously nuzzled her neck, kneading into her shirt. She inwardly groaned as she leaned back into the sofa. She was reluctant, but had no choice really but to let him ride out this euphoria.

It took a few minutes of her idly stroking his back and hair before he finally seemed to come to his senses. In that he flinched and pulled back out of her arms, gaping and staring at her in disbelief.

“Wha-What did I just do?”

“I dunno, you tell me Mr Jealous lion”

He groaned heavily, flopping against her in defeat. His hands covered his face as he whined into them, muffled complaints garbled by his fingers. He took a moment to mentally berate himself before his hands went to his hair.

“I got territorial because a strange male cat was in our home. I’m no better than a wild cat, getting so possessive like that. I just couldn’t stop myself, my instincts were screaming at me to protect my home”

“As sweet as it is that you see this as your home and not your Celestial one...protect it from a cat?”

He moaned again, half groan, half whine. She rolled her eyes at his dramatics, but still cuddled him, enjoying all this now the shock had worn off. It was kinda silly, a grown man feeling threatened by a domesticated cat.

“I’m going to have to apologise aren’t I?”

“I think you are”

She might as well have asked him to do a full list of chores or fight a planet filled with dark guild members with the way he flopped backwards dramatically, groaning in frustration and exhaustion.

“I guess there’s still a part of you acting like a proud lion huh?”

“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just embarrassing to apologise to a pet”

“Well go do it anyway, it’s the right thing to do”

He practically rolled off her, slowly standing up, posture matching his lack of enthusiasm. As he plodded off to go look for Simba, she got up to finally stretch her legs. There was a small sense of relief in allowing her blood to properly circulate through her legs, removing the tingling feeling that had started to creep up her body.

She was just thinking about making herself a drink, when a loud yowl split through the silence of the house. The sound was terrible, an angry and tormented cat screaming it’s anger. Her heart raced as she followed the sound, pounding towards her bedroom. Her boyfriend appeared at the doorway, completely fuming and carrying an equally enraged tabby, who was currently digging its claws into his jacket, determined to catch skin and make him bleed. With a confident ease, Loke pried the claws out of his clothes, then casually tossed the cat so it landed a bit in front of him. It was fine, having easily landed on all four of its feet, but it had still given her a mini heart attack.

“Don’t just throw him around!”

She didn’t know how he heard her over the loud howling of the cat, only increasing as Loke shut the door behind him, as if it was yelling to be let in. His anger fueled gaze targeted her as he huffed defensively.

“Do you know what he did?”

She was almost too afraid to ask, but ask him she must. For her sanity if nothing else.

“What?”

“That monster was rolling around on your bed and scent marking it! The nerve of this little creep, I should rip his tail right off!”

She sighed, was it really that big an issue? She got the strange feeling she was going to catch Loke rolling around in her bed later. She had half a mind to send him back to the spirit world,her hand moving to his key. It wasn’t completely his fault he was acting this way, she hadn’t exactly expected it either. She would need to talk to her spirits about these apparent animal instincts they inherit. He quickly raised his hand to stop her, looking slightly panicked.

“Wait, my lioness. I can get rid of this intruder for you”

“Intruder? I took a job….wait, lioness?”

She was so caught off guard by the new nickname that she almost didn’t catch the fighting starting back up again. Simba was hissing and spitting, crouched down low in a threat. Loke responded in kind, hunching his back as he bared his fangs.

“How dare you talk to me in such a manner! I’m a lion, I’m the one in control here!”

There was more hissing and yowling, before Loke flinched, intense hatred radiating from him as his hands curled into fists.

“A fake feline?! How dare you! Get here you little pest!”

He actually swiped at the cat. She stared, confused and stunned still. He missed, as the cat moved, so he crouched low to try again, the sound of the both of them yowling becoming unbearable. Simba bolted and he gave chase. They bolted past her before she could react, before she could even try to react, not that her brain was working well enough to even process moving. 

It was the sound of something being knocked over that finally snapped her out of it, turning around to chase after them and grabbing a water spray bottle from the kitchen. She got the awful, gut wrenching feeling that the money she was being paid for this now destructive afternoon, would in no way be worth the effort. She was never going to cat sit again.

She also wasn't going to summon this stupid spirit for a week, that’ll teach him.


	3. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A job becomes a trip down memory lane when Lucy discovers a piano

It had surprised her when her team had offered to take the job, considering it was rather small compared to their usual affair. Though considering Erza’s love of the theatre and the fact she was the one picking their mission this time, perhaps she shouldn’t have been.

There was to be a show in Crocus that night. Various famous musicians were travelling from all over Fiore to play stunning classical pieces that would no doubt move the audience and pull at their hearts. However, a dark shadow was currently hovering over the whole thing. The owner of the building, and overseer of the event, was a paranoid man. He was certain he was being targeted for some sort of attack, one that would happen that very night, with the music to distract any potential witnesses.

Regardless of whether it was all in his head or not, it was hard to say no to the desperate man and they had agreed to join his group of guards for the night, sweeping the area and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. She was hoping he was wrong and that it would be a quiet night, but worst case scenario and there is an attacker, she was certain they could handle it.

But first they would need to get a general feel for the area, know the ins and outs of the rooms the best they could with only a few hours to prepare. The fact their client had wanted to surprise their attacker with more guards than expected was a good plan, but it left them out of sorts. They’d split up, trying to figure out where the villains would most likely show up and where they wanted to be positioned to be at their most useful.

It left Lucy Heartfilia all on her own as she walked below the stage, examining the different instruments that were ready for the orchestra to play for the solo singers. It was mainly just the heavy ones, that couldn’t be carried off somewhere, that were sat waiting to be played, but she took some time to examine them regardless, who knew if there was a trap placed in one?

She thoroughly examined each before coming across a beautiful grand piano. Nostalgia hit her in a wave as memories of her mother playing for her flooded her to her core. Absentmindedly she sat down on the piano bench, lifting up the keyboard cover to look down at the keys. She ran her fingers over them, enjoying the feel of them under her fingers. 

The image of her mother playing song after song came to her, lazy afternoons spent inside listening to her joy being turned into sweet music. The sound played in her mind, stopping her ears from hearing anything else, all she could feel was that warm security that had enveloped her back then. Mission temporarily forgotten, her fingers tapped at the keys, playing a small melody she remembered. It was a simple tune, a child could learn it, but it helped her feel closer to the moment...closer to her mother. In her heart she knew she could stay there way longer than she should, reminiscing about how much fun her family used to have, how much love there used to be...

“I didn’t know you played the piano”

She paused, music coming to a stop as her fingers froze above them. She hadn’t been expecting company, especially not of this nature. She frowned down at the piano, refusing to look back at him.

“Why are you here Loke?”

“I dunno, I just felt a sense of melancholy from you and wanted to make sure you were alright. I was treated to a nice performance though”

She snorted, not impressed with such empty praise, even if it came from someone as impressive as him.

“Oh please, that wasn’t anything special...my mother was much better at it than I ever will be”

“Your mother?...Was she the one who taught you?”

She hummed in the affirmative, turning her head to face him and nod.

“Kind of yeah. When I was young she gave me a few lessons as I listened to her play. When I was older I asked my father if I could have lessons. I think he said yes just to get me to stop asking”

She sighed, remembering the way he had continuously ignored her, until he had finally snapped and said yes. It had been a bitter triumph, the fact she’d had to fight to grasp even the tiniest bit of freedom soured her joy at finally learning the piano. But she’d stuck to it, taking her private lessons seriously and doing her best to learn. She wasn’t the most musically gifted, but she could play a few songs, which she felt was an accomplishment.

“You alright? I think I lost you there”

She jumped, startled out of her sombre memories by Loke standing beside her, concern written on his face. She waved him off, looking back down to the keys.

“Sorry, I was just away in my memories. I practiced really hard you know? My father never showed any enthusiasm for my growing talent, but I worked hard regardless. I needed to get better, I needed to learn more and more. When I played I...I felt close to my mother...like she was right there listening to me play with that warm smile on her face. It felt like she was approving of me with every correct note, it was something that I craved. Approval from a loved one…”

Sadness struck her harshly, constricting her chest and threatening falling tears. She shut her eyes tightly, refusing to cry in front of him. She felt a hand on her shoulder, comforting and supportive.

“I’m sorry he never gave you the love and affection you deserved Lucy. He should have been proud of you”

She almost broke, slowly becoming unable to hold back the torrent of emotions swirling in her head. She shook her head, trying to shake it all away.

“It’s fine Loke, I have a new family now. You, the other Celestial spirits and Fairytail. I have all of your approval and that’s more than enough for me. I’m sorry for rambling to you, for opening up this old wound. I’m not sure why I started talking in the first place”

“I don’t mind Lucy, you can talk to me about anything, even if it’s getting stuff like this off your chest. You’re right in that I’m family now, I will support you through anything and everything, I promise.” He paused, leaving the hall in a sombre silence. She could feel him shifting behind her as he tried to think of a new subject. “...Did your mother have a favourite song on the piano?”

She froze under his grip and she could feel him practically scrambling to take his question back, not sure how he upset her but willing to try and pull it back.

“She really enjoyed joyful songs, whether they be slow and warm, like a soft memory. Or things that were a bit more energetic, songs she could laugh with as she played. There was a specific song though, an expression of love through music. It was a duet song so she could only ever show me one side at a time. I think she wanted either me or her husband to play the other side with her...It’s one of my biggest regrets that I never got the chance to.”

He paused once more, thinking over her words.

“Do you still know both parts?”

“Of course, I begged my teacher to show me once I felt I was confident enough. I could play it with my eyes closed, but there'll always be something missing, something not quite right”

“May I sit down?”

“Hm? Sure”

She shifted over on the seat to allow him to sit by her, there wasn’t much space so they were pressed a little close together.

“How does it go? The part I can play on this side of the piano?”

“You can play?”

He sighed, as if the memory upset him.

“Capricorn. He said, and I quote here. ‘If you’re going to flirt with women all the time, you can at least do it like a gentleman’. Like I can carry a giant piano around with me at all times. Still, he is right, this is a very classy way to impress a lady, and a good way to vent. There’s nothing more therapeutic than going over to Capricorn’s and slamming out an angry melody. Relieves so much stress, I’d highly recommend it. Though I’m not sure he would”

He grinned cheekily at her, earning a small giggle from his emotionally worn mage. He flexed his fingers, resting them on the keys.

“Show me”

She was hesitant, unsure whether she should share such a personal and important memory with him. It was one she’d held tight to her chest, cherishing and protecting it. But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to let someone in to see it, it might help relieve this bubble of regret and sorrow that accompanied it. She nodded, determined now as she looked down at the piano. The memory came easily, she’d practiced this so much it was written into her being. She played his part through to the end, the key sounded off in her mind and she so desperately wanted to correct that, but she’d have to lean over him to do that and she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. She plowed on until she came to the end, looking up at him to see his reaction, surprised that he was wearing such an understanding expression, a puzzle piece connecting into place in his mind.

“...Are you ok?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, it’s just...Capricorn” He shot her a small, sad smile. He looked wistful as if there was something he should have done. “When he came back, learned all he’d missed, there were two songs in particular he’d play, especially when he thought no one could hear him. They seemed so sad when he played them, but the emotions felt so far out of reach, like there was nothing I could do to soothe them, that all I could do was encourage him to play. It was the only way for him to find peace with what was bothering him. Of course it was Layla’s death, he’d never had the proper chance to mourn her and suddenly her child was a grown woman in her own right, years had passed and time had slipped by him.” He slammed a frustrated hand onto the keys, notes loud and aggressive as he berated himself. “I should have done something…”

She placed a hand over his own, trying to silently comfort him and take away all his worries.

“There was nothing you could have done, he had to make peace with her death by himself”

“There’s always something that can be done...To try and understand him, I learnt those two songs, I wanted him to know I was supporting him, standing beside him in any way I could. So I know this song Lucy, I could play it easily, but perhaps you should play it with him”

A self deprecating smile cut into her as he moved to stand up, intent leaving her to presumably summon Capricorn. Her hand tightened around his, keeping him there. He frowned in his confusion, looking to her for an answer.

“Please...stay. I want to hear it in full and before I play it with Capricorn I should be confident I can play my part properly”

“Using me as a guinea pig Lucy?”

“No I...I just don’t want to cry in front of him or make him feel worse. Besides I want to play this alongside you, my-” What was he to her? Spirit seemed too formal. Friend didn’t seem strong enough. Who was she kidding? She wanted to play a song of love with him. At least with Capricorn it would have the context of a shared love for her mother, but this? The love she felt was clear, but she couldn’t voice it. Not now, she wasn’t ready. She was a coward. “-my special friend. Please, it would mean a lot to me”

“...Ok Lucy, if that’s what you want”

She let go of him, an uneasy feeling that he would stay now. He seemed to be shaking slightly, like he was still going to bolt, did he really want to be here?

“What do you want to do Loke?”

“...To play this with you of course, though I feel I’ll get a different meaning from it than you will”

What did he mean by that? She didn’t have time to question his word choice as his fingers went to the keys as she hastily moved to join him, placing her own hands over the keys in front of her. They took a shared inhale of breath before they began to play.

It was a heartfelt melody, the two sides in two different keys but in perfect harmony. Representing two different souls going through highs and lows of life together as the song went from high to low and back again, changing tempo appropriately. As much as she wanted to listen to it finally together, her mind couldn’t help but wander to her mother, alone at the keys, waiting for someone to finally play this with her. She hoped she could hear it wherever she was, hear the love she poured into the instrument and hoped she approved of the choices she had made, the important choice she was going to make. She could imagine her and Loke living out the story told through the music. Standing strong to support each other even through the darkest of times, spending joyful and peaceful moments together, days and months filled with love. She almost wanted to move, to move to the story her imagination was playing for her, but she kept to the keys, playing her notes and filling them with her feelings instead. 

When they had finally finished she broke. The relief drowned out the regret and left her feeling so much lighter. But despite her reverie, she couldn’t stop crying, mourning her mother and all that she couldn’t do. All the things she wanted that had been denied to her, denied to them both. Strong arms pulled her close and she willingly leant into him, finding comfort in his hold.

“She would have been so proud of you, you know? In fact, I bet she is. Wherever she is right now, I bet she’s smiling down at you, filled with love and pride for you”

His words made it worse, yet also relieved her worries. It was a weird contradiction that confused her and mixed her around. Her crying continued as he started to drench his shirt, but he continued to hold her through it all, rocking her slightly as all her regrets about her lost family poured onto him. He took it all for her, gladly would always.

She had a job to return to, so they eventually parted, but she felt lighter, more confident as she went back to looking around, Loke sticking by her as a loyal friend. She felt closer to her mother, closer to him, like the music that was their lives were finally coming together, to make a radiant melody, one she couldn’t wait to hear for the rest of her life.


	4. Human Au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy has a vague memory, a memory of a fun day spent in a park as a child. But that was long ago, so why does her mind bring it up whenever she's around Loke?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait! this one kind of ran away with me

Lucy Heartfilia had led a somewhat charmed life, emphasis on the somewhat. Sure her family was rich, their land was bigger than some small villages, but her father prioritised work over her, ignoring her even on her birthdays. If it wasn’t for his servants, she wouldn’t get any kind of love or affirmation. She wasn’t allowed to make friends and was homeschooled by a private teacher, so their house was constantly quiet and empty. It had gotten worse since the...the death of her mother. Her loneliness had increased tenfold, spiraling downward towards anger, hatred and depression.

It was no surprise to anyone that knew of her situation that the moment she turned sixteen she broke out, fleeing her oppressive father to find her own family and friends. She wanted to know more about the world, about herself. Supposedly most people had magic in them, but she hadn’t been even allowed to try and figure out if she had any power whatsoever, it was frustrating to say the least. It was a risk to leave such safety with no way to defend herself, but her freedom was worth that risk. She left, clinging to the scraps of memories of her mother that she had. Those longaway days of love and happiness. She had a vague recollection of them sneaking away, to spend days out together. A village? A park? She had no way of identifying where it was they’d gone, the memory was so far beyond her reach. Yet it stayed with her as she walked through the new scenery, refusing to be shaken off, as if something important had happened once upon a time. It stuck in her heart and refused to leave so she let it stay.

Almost getting caught by such a manipulative man had made her skin crawl. How could one person be so awful? To use their power for such selfish means, she had thought that if you had magic you’d want to use it for the greater good of everyone? Not that she knew what her own power was just yet, but still! It had one silver lining though, she’d met up with Natsuu and Happy, a mage and Exceed duo who used their magic to help people, like mages should. They’d told her about Fairytail, about a guild dedicated to adventure and fun, a place where she could find herself and what her place in this world truly was. She’d taken the offer immediately and had gotten swept up in dangerous jobs and terrifying monsters, but also love and family. It was home.

Well, almost everyone accepted her at this point. Laxus and his cronies seemed to enjoy creeping in the corner and glaring at everyone and they very clearly disapproved of her, but that was no skin off her nose. They seemed weird anyway, especially the one with the weird tongue. No what bothered her was one ginger haired mage. Loke. Except whenever she heard his name a part of her deep inside twitched, refusing to accept it fully, like there was something missing. But it was the name he’d introduced himself with so who was she to disagree? Besides that wasn’t even the weirdest thing about him, no it had been his reaction to her and change in behaviour that confused her. She’d stepped into the guild at the start of a fight, which was apparently the norm, but back then it’d shocked her stupid. Loke had come over like a knight in shining armour, picking her up and flirting with her. Something about how such a beautiful lady shouldn’t be treated so badly by such animals. Before he was subsequently hit and dragged into the fight, though he’d seemed hesitant. Once the scuffle was interrupted by the guild master, another scare that had almost stopped her heart, she’d wanted to make sure he was ok, since he’d seemed so reluctant. Only to find him showing off to a group of cooing women, easily flirting with them. That was when she’d found out that Mr Loke was a massive flirt, specifically for blonde haired women, she’d just had the right hair colour, that’s why he had paid attention to her, that was it. Her frustration and disgust almost swallowed her up, made her snap at him, but for some reason she instead decided to push it down, to swear to not get caught up in his game. She couldn’t shake the belief that he was her friend, a belief too strong for the fact she’d known him less than half an hour. 

Their friendship only got stronger as he started to ignore everyone else to drown her in affection and attention. He was all eager smiles and excitable energy whenever she walked into the room, though he was constantly hinting at something she didn’t quite get, trying to get a response from her. He’d refused to go on missions in a group, a solo mage whose magic was unknown, so her only interactions with him were these confusing rollercoaster meetings in the guild.

Well she’d eventually gotten tired of the way he was always prompting her and the way a part of her knew what he was talking about but couldn’t remember. The way she felt so relaxed and happy around him, even just spotting him cheered her up, there was no reason for it. She’d snapped at him, yelling about how she had no idea what he was talking about and to stop confusing her. He’d looked so hurt, so upset, even when he tried to play it off. She’d wanted to take back her words, if for no other reason then to stop this knife sticking into her heart, to stop his own hurt, but it’d been too late. He left her alone, he was way too good at it. They would always miss each other, he’d always make sure he was as far away from her as possible, and her guilt had just constantly grown with each new day. 

Yet despite all that, he’d tried to save her from Gajeel and fought hard to protect her. He’d failed but returned to fight against Phantom Lord, racing to get her out of there while Natsu was squaring off against Gajeel. It was strange, that despite the fact she was the reason the fight was happening, despite the fact she’d hurt him with harsh words, he came through for her. He’d ran off the moment he knew she was ok, but still…

  
  


Regret filled her as she sighed, walking through the night, enjoying the view of the wilderness around her. Her mind was a whirlwind of recent memories and confusion, even relaxing with her team in a hotel hadn’t quelled these raging emotions. She’d broken off, saying she was going for a walk, desperate to clear her head. She didn’t have anyone to distract her out here, all she had was time to puzzle over the enigma that was her friend. Maybe friend was too strong a word for them now? Maybe he had only seen an obligation when he saved her, she had no idea. She tried to think about what he would say, how he was her knight or something? Something about a promise he had made, but she couldn’t remember anything about it, despite it being so familiar. It had been this conflict that had caused her to strike out against him she knew, but he hadn’t deserved it. It wasn’t his fault she was so messed up inside. 

So concerned with how to apologise to and thank him, she didn’t notice two mages in front of her until she bumped into them. She looked up at them, an apology on her lips, when she felt a strange sensation in the air, covering her completely. She caught the predatory smirks on the two mages and could feel her stomach plummet. Fear overtook her, freezing her in place. No, wait, it wasn’t fear. She desperately tried to move but a force was stopping her, keeping her in place. They just seemed to think it was funny and she had the despairing realisation that they’d used their magic on her, leaving her at their mercy. She’d close her eyes if she could, terrified as she was. Her team was too far away, there was no way they’d hear anything or know she was in danger. She couldn’t see a way that she was going to-

“LUCY!”

The rage filled shout would have made her jump in normal conditions, as it was she could only watch in awe as Loke came flying out from the bushes. The surprise attack allowed him to jump kick one of the men, sending him flying. His glare then landed on the other, his hand flaring up in a bright golden light as he got the other with a viscous right hook, sending them sprawling to the ground. The magic lost its grip on her, both men knocked unconscious with one fell swoop. Loke looked at his fist in surprise as the light faded, no longer needed. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he shook his head.

“Knew it”

Knew what? Was this just another mystery to add to the long list? Whatever, she needed to apologise to him! That was the most important thing to do! Well, she needed to thank him first.

“Thank you”

“Hm? No problem. I was here to take these two clowns out anyway, they’ve been ensnaring helpless women and-” He turned around and seemed to realise who he was talking to. He cut himself off as he jumped backwards. “-I’m sorry! I was too close right?!”

No! He shouldn’t be apologising! He’d just saved her life, beside he arguably wasn’t close enough to have a proper conversation with her.

“Don’t apologise, please Loke. It’s me who should apologise. I was angry and frustrated and took it out on you, I shouldn’t have and I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you but I’m going to try. Really I owe you a lot more thanks, considering you helped to save me from Phantom Lord”

“After failing you”

He spat those words out, a bitter self hatred evident in them, did that weigh heavy on him?

“Loke, you didn’t fail me, we need to talk about this.”

He paused, looking around and weighing his choices, before sighing and nodding. 

“Ok, let me turn these guys in first then we’ll chat”

Relief removed the heavy weights on her shoulders, he was willing to give her a chance!

“Thank you”

“No problem”

She must have imagined the blush on his cheeks as he tied up the men, not looking at her, but she was just happy to have this shot.

It took some time before they found themselves sitting together outside, looking up at the stars. It was more than a little bit awkward, neither of them knowing what to say. She wasn’t going to let this moment slip away, it couldn’t. So it was with a deep breath, and a hammering heart, that she spoke up.

“Thank you, for saving me from those men, you didn’t have to”

“It was no problem Lucy, I don’t mind helping you when you need it. Though I wish it was something more normal, like needing help moving something. I can't say I enjoy the idea of you being in danger”

He frowned at nothing in front of him, no doubt imaging an uncountable number of scenarios in which she got hurt.

“I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m also very sorry for pushing you away” He was about to wave her off but she continued, she needed to get this out in the open. “I know I have no right to ask this, but I would like it if you would still be my friend. Or at the very least, that you don’t hate me”

His head spun to face her, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. She knew it, it’d been too much to ask for. She did her best to hold back the tears, when he suddenly shook his head, exasperated with her.

“Lucy, I could never hate you and of course I want to be your friend, if you’ll have me. “ His hand moved to ruffle her hair, an action so achingly familiar, a memory so achingly close. “I’m sorry too. I was so happy that I had finally found you, so eager to start fulfilling my promise, that I overwhelmed you. I pushed you away with my overbearing nature and that’s my fault. It’s just, you looked so much like her I was so certain I was right”

“Her?”

He scrunched his face, not sure how to explain himself. 

“But you never recognised me, so my hope started to fade. You’re a year younger than me so maybe the memory didn’t come as quickly to you, or wasn’t as important, but maybe I was wrong. What if all this time I had been bothering a complete stranger? Confusing and upsetting someone with no justifiable cause, so I backed off. I tried to keep my distance so as not to hurt you anymore, but I wasn’t going to stand around while someone tried to take you away. Never...tonight proved I was right, but i’ll still keep my distance if that’s what you need”

“Right? About what?”

He turned away from her, standing up as he did so.

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to mess with your head further, especially after all you've just been through. Maybe it’s better to see if you remember on your own in time. If not we’re still friends, i’ll still stand by you whatever you do. Though I don’t know if it’s in your best interest to associate with me”

He started to walk away and she was filled with a panic that felt not entirely her own, a past panic pushing her to get up and reach for him.

“Wait! Leo, please wait” She finally grasped his arm, not that she needed to. He’d frozen at the strange new name. Not that she could tell him where it’d come from. “Please don’t leave me alone”

He looked down at her, shocked but hope was swimming in his eyes.

“Leo?”

“Y-yeah, I don’t know why I called you that, it just seemed to be right...Wait I-”

Her hand went to her head, ignoring Loke’s cry of worry as she closed her eyes tightly. It all came back to her in a flash. One day, they’d only ever had one day, but as two young children do, they’d filled it with as much adventure and fun as they could. Her mother had snuck her out and had sat on a bench and watched them as they had explored. She’d been playing alone at first, until he’d come over, happy to meet her and even happier to play. They’d climbed up trees, rolled through the grass, chased each other and the memories of the sheer joy and freedom she’d felt that day came back to her. A particular conversation came to her, the promise he was speaking about. 

_ She’d just tripped and banged her knee. The cut stung and tears had flown freely from her eyes as the shock rippled through her. He’d immediately ran over, crouching low beside her and eyeing up the cut. _

_ “Are you ok?!” _

_ “It hurts Loke, it hurts a lot!” _

_ He’d looked around, they were hidden from her mother’s view by the trees. He turned back to her, tilting his head before pressing his fingers to his lips. He kissed her lips then pressed it against her cut, he then spread out both his hands in front of him. _

_ “Pain go away!” Her tears dried up in surprise, what was he doing? He scratched the back of his head, bashfully smiling at her. “I think that’s right? I’ve seen people do things like that...I think?” _

_ The silliness of the situation hit her like a brick, making her giggle. _

_ “It worked, I forgot about the pain” _

_ “It did?! Uh, I mean yeah of course it did! I’m your knight after all?” _

_ “My knight?” _

_ What was one of those? Was it someone important? _

_ “Yeah! It’s my job to protect you always!” _

_ “But...we might not see each other after today” _

_ It might be a while before they had a free day again, there was no guarantee she’d see him again. Her young child’s heart couldn’t take that and tears threatened to return. He was confident though, a sure smile on his face.  _

_ “We’re friends right?” _

_ “Y-yeah” _

_ “Then we’ll meet again. When we do I promise I’ll protect you, cause that’s what a knight does! I need a knight's name though, they never seem to use a normal one in the stories. Something to show I’m brave like a lion! That’s what they always wanna be, like a lion!” _

_ Oh! She knew the answer to this one! If a knight’s meant to be like a lion then...She bounced excitedly as she grinned at him. _

_ “Leo! Apparently that’s the lion stars! There can't be a better lion then the one in the sky!” _

_ ”Sir Leo...I like it! Sir Leo will always protect you Lucy” _

_ They giggled as he helped her up, running away together to play a new game called Knights.  _

“Lucy?! Are you alright? You spaced out on me there”

“Loke...or should that be Sir Leo?” His worry turned to joy as he slowly beamed at her. “I remember, you were my first friend. I hadn’t really left home before then and my mother would always take us to secluded places. It was such an important memory, getting to play with another child for change. Thank you for looking out for me”

“It was my pleasure princess, you were a dear friend to me too. I really wanted us to see each other again, I kept returning to that park, hoping to see you again. But you never showed”

She backtracked and tried to figure out why her mother never...a soft gasp escaped her as she realised.

“My...she...she died shortly after. I was never let outside again, it was considered too dangerous. I never wanted to just leave you, but my life had become so filled with turmoil, I’d lost any control I had over my own life”

“No wonder it took you awhile to remember, I’m so sorry Lucy”

She shook her head, sighing softly.

“There was nothing that could be done, it was unfortunate but I always carry a part of her deep inside me, it’s all I can do to keep her memory alive”

“I’m sure it makes her happy Lucy and I’m certain she’s proud of you”

“Thank you” There was a pleasant pause in the conversation as she took a moment to reminisce in her fond memories. When suddenly a thought struck her and pulled her out of it.

“What made you realise I was her anyway?”

“Hm? Oh you know I showed off my light magic back then” A memory came back to her. A hazy one of his hands glowing and punching the air to show off his power as her protector. She nodded to let him know she knew what he was talking about, a part of her annoyed that him fighting those men hadn’t brought this memory back. “Well...that had actually been the first time that happened. It hadn’t happened since, no matter how hard I tried to replicate that power, it never came. Until tonight, when it came back to protect you”

“W-what does that mean?”

He shrugged, not too bothered by this whole thing.

“I dunno, you bring out my magic I guess. Maybe it was that promise to protect you that brought it forth, but it seems I can only use it in your presence”

“Shouldn’t that bother you?”

Shouldn’t he be more concerned about this?! It seemed a big downfall to his power.

“Nah, not really. I suppose all it means is that our magic is compatible? Or that yours powers mine? I don’t know?”

“But I don’t have any magic though”

She frowned at the thought, only Erza’s training in hand to hand combat and her proficiency with a whip had gotten her this far.

“Are you sure? Maybe yours only works in my presence too? We'll have to take some time to experiment, which is fine by me. It just means I have an excuse to go on every job with you”

A small smirk creeped across his face and she inwardly groaned. She got this strange feeling she was now going to end up with this weird mixture of excitable puppy dog Loke and endless flirt Loke, but for some reason, she really didn’t mind. She held out a hand and he gladly took it, beaming at her with a light pink dusting his cheeks. Hmmm, how could she make that worse?

“So, Loke, tell me, am I the reason you have a thing for blondes?”

His reaction was fantastic, all embarrassment and splutters as he stammered out the excuse that he had used that to look for her. She walked on, dragging him along and listening to his rambles, watching his face get redder out of the corner of her eye.

Yup, life with her first and best friend was going to be a fun ride, she couldn’t wait!


	5. Missing you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke and Lucy ponder their feelings for each other.

He had the whole universe in front of him, but it didn’t bring him the same joy it used to. It should be constantly awe inspiring, seeing all the small planets belonging to the different spirits floating by, never quite in the same place as the last time you spotted them. The endless starry sky with countless small lights brightening up his world. For the longest time the view from his house was the most stunning one he’d ever seen, but now, now that honour had to be given to something else. No, not something, someone.

Lucy Heartfilia, his new brightest star, the most beautiful being on both worlds and stunning in her own right. She was intelligent, witty, brave and kind. She’d snatched away a sinner like him from the jaws of death, showing him a mercy he hadn’t deserved. Yet she’d asked for nothing in return except that he be there for her, an easy thing to do since now he couldn’t leave her. His soul was drawn to hers irrevocably, it would be until the end of time and he knew it. For an eternity he would look up at the stars and be reminded of how much she shined, it cheered him up when he was at his loneliest, but also brought worry and fear along with it.

He knew that for him it was sometimes only an hour between summonings, if that. Not that he minded being summoned that often, if he had his way he’d live on Earthland with her. But for her it could be weeks, agonisingly long weeks in which anything could happen to her. While most of the time he was able to use the time in between to rest and recharge, the longer it went on, the worse it got.

One time there’d been a month before she’d summoned him again and he’d been near enough a wreck before his gate opened, coaxing him through. He’d quickly fixed himself up to go help her, but had to resist the urge to cry out in relief that she was ok, pull back the need to hug her and resort to just the normal, casual, flirting. It hadn’t been enough to soothe him.

First it was nightmares, awful scenarios in which he failed her over and over again, images of her bleeding out, a multitude of different injuries littering her body kept him up through the night. The death of future Lucy made this worse. He could never tell her but that event had sped up the time it took for him to start panicking, start imagining ways in which she was being hurt or worse. He’d get shakes, start getting skittish and jumpy, hanging on her call. According to Aquarius he was near enough unbearable in this state but he couldn’t care less about what she thought. The longing to be near her would just expand inside him, taking up more and more until he hit a breaking point. Either she summoned him, or he summoned himself, especially if he sensed she was in trouble, then there was no convincing him otherwise.

He was positive she wasn’t too impressed with his random summonings. There was a place for them in a fight that she could begrudgingly admit, but when she was at home, safe and sound? How could he explain to her this awful dread that she was going to die? He couldn’t, so instead it was just a silly one liner that no doubt lowered her opinion of him further. One day she was just going to give up his key, he knew it. He didn’t want to think about how broken he would become when that happened, unable to know what was going on with her would kill him. Yet he continued to bug her so perhaps he was just a fool. A fool in love, a love that made him soar yet also terrified him. 

It was a love that made him miss her, even when he’d just returned. It was an ache that thrummed down to his very core, pushing him to return to her. Because in the end that was the biggest problem, every second they were apart he missed her terribly. He wanted to see her badass moments where she sent bad guys flying away with a crack of her whip. He wanted all her small moments, kind smiles, pouty annoyance, her cute tired yawning. The way she could start a fight at Fairytail yet end it with a glare. The way she teased those around her good naturedly and her victorious grin when her victim couldn’t think of a comeback. Her quiet moments reading, writing or just letting the world pass by her. Her peaceful expression was a rare favourite of his. He wanted to see everything that was Lucy, understand her completely and he couldn’t do that in the stars.

He sighed, rubbing his fingers through his hair, he was in such trouble, but he really didn’t care. There was only one thing he wanted and it wasn’t of this world, so what did being here matter? He’d fade away before he lost her, lost time with her. It was only the threat of her tears as he died that stopped him, but only just. It was a sick game, constantly hiding his feelings from her, one that he wished one of them would stop.

By the stars he missed her.

She missed him. 

She groaned into her pillow as the realisation struck her like a blow. It had been another day for work. It was supposed to be another easy job, but no, they had to be caught by surprise didn’t they? Predictably a certain spirit had summoned himself to do the one thing she hated the most, to use himself as a shield for her. She couldn’t take it, the way he constantly threw himself at anything just for her. Constantly seeing him get hurt over and over like some sick form of Déjà vu. Today had been no different, he’d been hit really hard. So she was forced to watch him vanish in golden stardust, oblivious to the pain he was causing with his foolish actions. The rage she’d felt engulfed her, a mixture of anger at him, sorrow and a powerful emotion she didn’t want to name. Their targets became the unintentional victims of her destructive cocktail of emotions but oh well, they shouldn’t have caused her such pain in the first place.

It was a weird feeling, that his pain was hers, but one she’d come to accept. She just hated seeing him ‘die’ over and over. She hated seeing any spirit suffer, but the feeling was ten times worse when it was him, to the point she felt some sort of phantom pain when he was hurt, her heart squeezed when he was sad. Maybe her mind was focused on him being a member of Fairytail, or maybe it was something else she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t something that she put under a microscope, she just let the wave of nausea hit and rode it out, it was for the best. Who knew how he would react to the knowledge of how she felt. Whether he’d be overcome with guilt at causing her pain or overjoyed that she cared so deeply for him or maybe a bit of both?

Whatever his reaction, this was the worst part, the waiting. Waiting for him to be better, to rest of the damage he’d taken. He’d go completely silent when this happened, she couldn’t even talk through his key and it terrified her. What if this was the one time he wouldn’t come back? What if there was a limit to how immortal he was? What if he was sick of her always getting into trouble, of always having to save such a weak owner? This could be it, the time when he contacted her to say he was never coming back, through a limit of his power or patience. Where he was either forced to or whether he happily demanded his key back. The mere thought made her sick to her stomach.

There’d be no more random visits, no miserable days cheered up by his boisterous, sunny nature. He chased away the rain whenever he showed up and she’d miss it. Miss the way he smiled softly at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, his loud and joyous laughter when he was in the guild with his friends. She’d miss his determination, either in keeping up the whole knight charade, or just his determination in flirting with her. She had to admit, his attention made her feel special, feel loved. Even though he likely didn’t see it as much more than idle chatter. She’d even miss his strong arms carrying her, despite the handful of times it happened, it had made her feel safe, secure, she craved that feeling. To feel so completely at ease because someone you trusted was there with you. He was a loveable idiot, he couldn’t catch a hint and yet...she’d miss that.

She had wondered if it was ok to be thinking up excuses to summon him, to alleviate the lonely feeling she got when he wasn’t around for far too long, but had eventually decided against it. What if she annoyed him with the constant time wasting? What if she caught him off guard while he was busy or on a date? He’d surely get upset with her and that was one of the few things she feared. She’d never tell him, but after that whole thing with the eclipse spirits, she’d grown fearful of drawing his ire. That one day he would once again glare at her with anger and hatred, that he’d wish she was never his owner. So she danced around him, these aching feelings and how she longed to cure her loneliness. She missed him terribly, to the point of madness some days, but refused to upset him and so here she was. Trapped in an endless loop of being able to see him and not acting on it out of confusion and panic at the whirlwind of emotions that always blows her away when he’s around. It was a sick game she was playing with him. Protecting her own heart behind impenetrable defenses while scouting out his own, desperate to know if his words held some truth to them. She needed so desperately for one of them to break this cycle, she’d do anything.

She sighed, grasping at his key and holding iit close to her chest, trying to feel him, see if he was ok. She was surprised by an answering thrum of magic, he was all healed up and raring to go, raring to see her perhaps? She’d never really summoned him straight after a fight before, though she’d wanted to, for fear of bothering him while he was healing. But there was a strange feeling pulsing through his key, an intense want to be by her side, one she’d never felt before. It confused her greatly, but she would oblige him, if for no other reason then to see him and calm down this burning pain in her heart.

She held out his key and he came quickly to her in a shower of magic, grinning down at her in..was that relief? Or perhaps she was just seeing her own emotions on his face. Her own relief at seeing him unscathed threatened to drown her or perhaps save her. She smiled back at him, pushing back the tears and mentally pulling herself up. She wouldn’t cry in front of him, everything was normal.

“Hey Loke, I missed you”

And then she just had to go and say that, craddled in a soft sigh didn’t she? 


	6. Flirt

Lucy Heartfilia hated flirting, hated flirts. The constant one liners and rude comments got under her skin. Nothing could upset her faster than when someone saw her body, decided she was pretty and that they somehow deserved it.

He’d been flirting with her all day, popping up where she’d least expected it. He showed up in the guild, in town, near the river. He just wouldn’t leave her alone, she was starting to worry she’d gained a stalker. It wasn’t even the man who would normally flirt with her! Loke was nowhere in sight sadly, she’d have rathered put up with a day full of his shenanigans than this. She actually secretly enjoyed his attention for one thing, the same could not be said for this idiot.

He had cornered her again, the same smug smile on his face. He probably thought himself incredibly handsome, what with his perfect bright smile, slicked back brown hair, tall,lean body. He had some muscle on him too, he probably did look nice, it was a shame for him she didn’t judge based on appearance, actions meant so much to her and so far his actions weren’t impressive. She’d been with Fairytail too long, seen too many people like this, willing to flirt and manipulate to get what they want from the naive who stumble along after them. She’d also seemed to be the type of person that attracts them to her, it was stupid the amount of times she’d been ensnared by some of the more vile specimens of humanity, maybe it was the blonde hair? She’d been thankful when Erza had understood and helped her learn how to defend herself from people like that.

Thankfully she sensed no malice from this man, perhaps he was genuinely interested in her, but she couldn’t be with a man that couldn’t take no for an answer, especially one who would ignore her to such a degree. This needed to stop and she was going to put her foot down once and all!

She raised her hand to cut him off, stopping whatever rambling tangent he was going on.

“Listen, Cullen was it?” At his eager nod from him she continued. “I’m just not interested, It’s sweet that you care so much, but you’re not my type. It’d be better for you to find someone else, someone who likes you for you”

He shook his head, annoyingly getting closer to her, if he started to touch her she was going to snap.

“But sweet, I’m certain we’d go so well together”

She shuddered, why did pet names sound so wrong if they weren’t coming from Loke? Oh right, it was the inherent creepiness factor of giving a stranger one.

“And I’m certain we won’t. Besides the fact my heart is already set on someone, you don’t seem to respect me”

He stupidly shuffled closer, right in her space now as he grinned at her.

“But beautiful, I respect you a lot, much more than many others I’d say.” His eyes roamed over her and she felt increasingly dirty. “There’s that mention of another man again. For someone you cherish so much, I haven’t seen him all day, does he not treat you right?”

Her anger flared at the insinuation that Loke consistently abandoned her. He was a spirit with a heart of gold, always ready to come to her aid when she needed it. He also knew never to cross the line, he always backed off when she asked. He always stopped flirting when it became too much, he knew how to respect her. If he crossed a line he apologised and changed his behaviour to never do it again. This lowly man had no right to insult him!

“He lives a busy life, he can't always be here but he tries so hard when he is. I don’t think you could understand that I love him because of his kindness, his selfless devotion that always pushes him to become a better man. He has proven time and time again that he deserves my respect and love. You, on the other hand, have done nothing but annoy me all day”

She didn’t mean to be so rude but insulting her spirits hit a nerve within her, nevermind that the spirit in question was Loke. That just upset her further, though he didn’t seem to be catching on.

“How great can he be if he’s not here with you? If we were together I’d never leave you alone”

His hand went to her arm and she had to fight back a shudder, fight back the urge to slap him away.

“Well we’re not together and I want you to leave me alone. Let go of me!”

“Come with me, I promise I’ll show you the time of your life. You’ll be changing your mind on the other guy in no time flat” He shot her what he probably thought was a sultry smirk, though it only made her roll her eyes. “I promise you that princess”

She almost vomited, he used Loke’s name for her, how dare he! How dare he think he has the right to call her that! She grabbed his hand, pulling it off her and squeezing his fingers. He let out a surprised yelp of pain and she wasn’t surprised by the small feeling of pleasure it caused.

“Don’t touch me, leave me alone and back off!”

“Let go of me, you crazy woman!”

She released him and he jumped backward, frowning darkly at her as he shook his hand.

“You leaving?”

“Hmph, No wonder your mystery man hasn’t showed up, he probably knows how insane you are and is terrified of you”

“Excuse you?! I was defending myself from you grabbing me! Don’t grab people if you don’t want snapped fingers. I only love one man like I’ve been trying to tell you! And that’s Loke! I love Loke no one else, so leave me alone.”

There was a pulse of magic in the pouch that contained her keys, but she ignored it, focusing solely on the man glaring menacingly at her.

“A woman shouldn’t be such a brute! I feel so sorry for this Loke person. Honestly no man would love such an animal!”

Well, if that’s how he felt, might as well prove it to him. Her hand went to her whip before deciding against it, she didn’t need it to deal with him. She held her fists in front of her, a challenge.

“Want to see how much of an animal I am?”

She wouldn’t ever stand being insulted, never again. Fairytail had taught her that.

“Are you sure? You feral kitten. You won’t last long against me”

The sure smugness of his own victory, of how dominant he was over her tipped her over the edge. Her fists tightened as she stepped forward, about to charge in her rage. Arms suddenly encircled her from behind, holding her tightly around her waist. She struggled against her captor, anger too zoned in on Cullen to care about them.

“Excuse me, but as someone she’s slapped before, I’d highly suggest you leave. She’s got a mean swing”

She paused for a second, looking up to spot a familiar head of orange hair. She sighed, patting at his hands.

“Let me go Loke”

“Nope, not until this gentleman over here leaves, it wouldn’t be safe otherwise” His beaming smile for her morphed into a glaring frown as he looked back to the other man. “No, it really wouldn’t be safe for you to stay, so  _ leave” _

Sensing Loke’s obvious malice he finally took the hint, deciding it was for the best if he gave up this particular pursuit, he nervously scampered away, not looking back as his confidence turned to nerves at the sight of two powerful mages.

She calmed down at the sight of his fleeting image, running down the street. She took in gulping breaths as her anger cooled, leaving her emotionally and physically tired. She tapped Loke’s hands after a moment, having fully calmed down.

“I’m ok now Loke I promise...would you let me go? I won’t chase after him”

“I know you won’t, honestly it was lucky I heard you and showed up”

She frowned, upset at his disbelief in her.

“I could have taken him!”

He chuckled, his chest vibrated against her.

“Oh, I know, trust me. I meant it was lucky for him I cooled you down, otherwise who knows what would have happened to him?”

“Right...he’d have been toast” She chuckled, before looking up to him “You can let me go though”

His arms tightened as he buried his face in her neck, a growing grin tickling her neck. 

“I’m not sure I can. You love me Lucy? You really, really love  _ me _ ?”

He squeaked on the last word, awestruck and full of disbelief. Ah, she had said that hadn’t she? In the heat of the moment, her anger had caused her to confess. Her calling his name would have caught his attention and then her announcing her love...no wonder he’d showed up. Well, there was no point denying it after she’d yelled it so fiercely.

“Yes Loke, I love you...Do you think you can find it in you to love a woman as brutal as I am?”

He snorted before kissing her cheek. 

“I can very easily fall in love with a woman who is patient and kind. One who is beautiful and sweet. But also knows when others have crossed her and is willing to defend herself. You’re a brave woman Lucy, I don’t care if I don't need to help you every time, seeing you beat up someone who deserves it is immensely satisfying. You don’t need to be my damsel. You’re not brutal Lucy if you refuse to let other men mistreat you. Though I am here to help if you need it.”

She felt immediately relieved. Some of Cullen’s words had hit her deep inside. She could be rather blunt or brash, especially when pushed to anger. 

“I know you are” 

“I love you Lucy, my wild lioness, I wouldn’t change you for the world”

“And I love you my silly lion”

“Even though I can't always be with you? He did have a point with that”

“Every moment I have with you is special. I may want more, but I treasure what time we have”

“Thank you, my princess”

Ah, that’s better. As he kissed her cheek her heart leapt in joy. This was the voice that should be calling her princess. This was the man allowed to flirt with her and who found unbridled joy in that fact. His hands moved to her arms, rubbing away the sickly ghost of Cullen’s fingers on them. He relaxed her, calmed her.

Lucy Heartfilia hated flirting, it was an absolutely pointless endeavour that did nothing for her. Unless it was a certain Lion spirit doing it.


	7. Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Ethiwen for this lovely prompt! It was a real joy to write for, though I may have gotten carried away!

It was going to be the best day ever, she was certain of it. No, she’d make sure it was! The important occasion was for Loke after all, she had to do her best.

Spirits all had an unofficial birthday, the first night when their stars dominated the night sky. Loke’s was tonight, Leo would be in clear view in all its shining glory and she wanted to make the most of it. She wanted to give him the biggest surprise in his entire immortal life. It was a big ask, but she had the perfect plan. 

First she was going to go around town collecting everything she needed, a few things had been prepared beforehand for her and she just needed to pick them up. Second, she was going to decorate her home and make it look incredibly welcoming and clear that it was for a birthday party. Third, once everything was ready, she was going to summon Loke, surprise him and enjoy a party with him. Finally they were going to go out and enjoy the night sky together and watch his stars come into view. It was perfect! Absolutely nothing could go wrong today!

She was practically skipping as she made her way through town, humming a tune to herself as she imagined his reaction to this whole thing. She bet he’d be so giddy he couldn’t properly speak. He'd be so happy he’d be bouncing off the walls, it'd be so cute! She felt her own anticipation rise as she thought about it, speeding up to reach her first destination. 

She stopped in front of a bakery, one that Erza had personally recommended to her, to pick up her order. She’d had a cake specially made for him and she couldn’t wait to see how it had turned out. It was a quick conversation with the person at the till. Giving her name and handing over the receipt. She was jitty as they went into the back, ready to jump out of her skin in her excitement. She turned to face them as they came back out, box in hand.

The lid was opened for her to peak inside and she almost squealed at what she saw. It was a medium sized round sponge cake. It was beautifully layered in a deep blue icing. Golden writing decorated it, ‘Happy Birthday’ on the top, ‘Leo’ on the bottom. The sides of the cake had small silver icing stars decorating it, with the constellation of Leo decorating the face of the cake, in the middle between the words. It looked perfect to her and she happily took it away. 

Satisfied that the first part of her plan was well on its way, she made a slow walk back home. The cake was fragile and she wanted it safe and sound in her house. She carefully walked along the cobbled street, careful not to trip on any loose stones. She was making good progress when she heard a loud noise behind her.

“Luuuccyyyy!”

She didn’t have time to react before something small rammed into her back. She lurched forward, the box slipping from her hands and falling to the floor. She heard a sickly squish as the cake fell forward, out of the loose lid and onto the floor. She stared blankly at it, disbelieving that such a lovely looking thing’s fate was to be squashed onto the floor. A blue thing took up her vision and she stepped back to see a grinning Happy.

“Lucy! It’s great to see you today! What are you doing?”

She frowned at him, annoyed at how cheerful he was. He must have been out for a fly when he unfortunately spotted her. He was an excitable little fluff ball, but that was no excuse.

“Well I  _ was  _ taking a cake home, but now look at it!”

She pointed down at the mess he’d made, one he’d only just noticed. He let out a small gasp, before looking up at her, ashamed.

“I’m sorry Lucy, I didn’t mean to”

She shook her head, not pleased with him. He was quickly souring her happy mood and the crash had made her reaction much harsher then she would normally intend.

“You shouldn’t barge into people! I had that specially made and now it’s ruined. Do you know how much it costs to get an event cake made?!”

He shook his head, physically drooping as he landed in front of her.

“No...sorry Lucy”

“It’s fine, i’ll come up with something else.”

Her response seethed through gritted teeth as she quickly paced away from him, she didn’t really want to snap at him, it’d been an accident. A stupid one, but an accident nonetheless. She would just have to make the cake herself at home, it wouldn’t look as pretty but it’d have to do. She hoped Loke would still like it and that it wouldn’t ruin his day. She groaned, ignoring Happy’s call and leaving him to clean up the mess he’d made, he should at least do that much.

Not needing to go home, she made it to her next destination a little early. But she was delighted to find that her gift was ready for her to take home. She sighed in relief, the day was still on track, she could salvage this. It was in a small rectangular, velvet box. It had been wrapped in black wrapping paper, tied in a white bow with red outlines, reminiscent of his suit colours. She held the box joyfully to her chest, thanking the shopkeeper, truly grateful that this hadn’t gone wrong too. Her mood spiked upwards as hope tentatively started to grow again in her chest. As she exited she nodded to herself, certain she’d gotten all her bad luck for the day out of the way at the start, the rest should be clear sailing. That was a mistake.

She walked along the canal on the way home, missing the busy streets where someone could bump into her. His gift wasn’t as fragile as the cake but it would still break if it was stepped on by a barrage of feet. She stayed off the barrier, not trusting herself, this would be the one time she fell off. She shuddered at the thought. Not only would she be wet and miserable, but she’d probably lose his gift too. A birthday with a small cake and no gift would just be sad, she couldn’t let that happen! As she walked she kept a suspicious eye out, not wanting any more surprises from her friends. She did not need any more reason to stress, she could already feel her mind reorganising everything around to slot in baking a cake, she would truly stress out if there were more diversions.

As distracted as she was, she forgot about how wet it could be so close to the canal. Her eyes were too busy scanning the sky to notice the wet stones. Her mind was too busy going through what she would do the moment she got home to realise she was speeding up along with her racing thoughts. She was breaking into more of a jog as the long list motivated her to get home quicker. She had to be home quicker, as in right now!

All of this cumulated in her slipping on the wet cobblestones, lurching forward. Her brain blanked, confused by the sudden feeling of floating in the air. It was only her instincts gained from years of fighting that twisted her body towards the barrier, causing her to fall on it and keep herself upright, arms in front of her. She had a deathgrip on the box as it hung over the water, keeping it from falling in. She sighed in relief, shoulders slumping as her heart hammered in her chest. She stood up on shaky legs, nerves weakening her and keeping her leaning against the barrier. 

_ Ok, pay more attention Lucy. That was too close. _

Just as she’d finally calmed herself down, ready to continue moving. Something slammed down into her hands, knocking the gift out of them. She froze as she watched it fall towards the water.

“Lucy! Look what I got for you from Na-”

“My gift!”

Happy’s eyes darted down from where he was sitting in her hands. In the back of her mind she registered that he was carrying a small brown bag, tied up with string. But right now she didn’t care. Acting on her panic his wings flapped, lifting him up. He dropped the bag into her open hands before shooting down towards the water. He dove in with a large splash and she panicked. It had gone into the water! Even if Happy got it back, she’d need to rush to have it fixed, costing her more money and-

She breathed in deeply, doing her best to stop her mind spiraling out of control. To keep herself distracted she moved away from the damned barrier and opened the bag Happy had given her. She almost jumped at the contents. It was a bag of Jewels! To help pay for the cake? Well she appreciated the thought but…

“Lucy I got it!”

He was suddenly in front of her, proudly holding out the box for her. They were both soaked through, Happy looking more like a flying mop then a cat. She numbly took the box from him, her fingers immediately becoming wet as the paper started to peel off.

“...It’s ruined”

“...It can’t be fixed?”

His smile dropped as he stared at her, concerned for her. 

_ This stupid flying rat had ruined her day twice now, how dare he- _

_ It had been an accident, he hadn’t meant to- _

_ Yes but he still did it! Now her day was going to be so much busier and stress filled- _

_ It will all get done and Loke will appreciate it regardless- _

_ But he’s added so much to the list of things to do! _

_ But is it worth making him cry? _

Her raging storm filled mind came to a quick stop as she realised that the blue Exceed was indeed sitting on the floor and crying. Fat, guilt filled tears streamed down his face rapidly with no sign of stopping. Had she been glaring at him? She probably had, this wasn’t good.

“I-i’m so sorry Lucy. I thought the money would help you get the cake back, but now I’ve made things worse!”

She sighed, taking in another deep breath, she needed to cool down. He had genuinely tried to fix his mistake, it wasn’t his fault she’d tripped and almost dropped the gift. She kneeled in front of him, putting the gift under her arm, wincing a little at the cold feeling against her skin, so she could gently pet his head. She rubbed his head encouragingly until his tears started to slow down. 

“It’s ok Happy. I’ll use this money to get my gift fixed and rewrapped”

“Y-you will?”

“Yeah, but I do suggest you stay away from me for the rest of the day”

“...Are you mad at me?”

She clenched her teeth, she was stressed at the extra time she was wasting. Frustrated at the situation he had unwittingly caused and yes, even a little angry at him. But this, like all things, would pass. One day she might even be able to laugh about it with him. But for right now, she acknowledged it would be dangerous for him to stick around her.

“Yes, a little. I’m stressed and tired today and this has just added to it. I’ve got so much to do now. But by tomorrow I will have forgiven you. So, just for today, could you please give me some space?”

He had fully calmed down now, only sniffling a little. He gloomily nodded.

“Ok Lucy, I really am sorry you know?”

“I know you are, I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Yeah...see ya then”

He was slow to take off, continuously looking back at her, before she eventually couldn’t see him anymore. Her anger slipped from her, to be replaced with fatigue and weariness. Well, she’d better be going, this gift wasn’t going to fix itself. 

She ran home, not stopping until she rushed through her front door, gasping for breath. Thankfully her gift could be fixed but that detour, plus the missing cake, meant she was way behind schedule. She’d have to rush to be on time but she could do it! Right she wasn’t going to let a few sidetracks ruin hers or Loke’s day!

She sped into the kitchen, getting the ingredients to make her own sponge cake. It wouldn’t be as large as the bakery’s, nor so intricately decorated, but she could manage. She did this first because she had to be slow and steady, everything done with love and care, to make the perfect, fluffy sponge cake. Once she was satisfied that everything was properly mixed and ready, she put her creation into a pan and then into the oven. This now gave her just over thirty minutes to get as much done as she could. She set a timer for herself then set off to continue her work.

She went to her cupboards and grabbed some glasses to put on the table. She put them down before letting out a soft curse. She hastly took them back off, ran to get the tablecloth she wanted, covered the table, then returned the glasses to where they’d been. The tablecloth kept with the celestial theme. She couldn’t find a personalised one so a simple night sky image had to do. She went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Celestial wine. Capricorn and Aries had been her go to help with this plan and both had agreed this was his favourite brand. He apparently loved chilling in his home with a glass so she hoped he’d appreciate the gesture. She put the bottle by the glasses, where he’d easily spot it.

She then rushed to her bedroom, ducking down to reach under her bed. It took a frantic moment, her brain offically on full red alert at this point, before she pulled out a cardboard box. She peaked inside and sighed in relief that everything was in there. Every decoration she had picked out to go onto her walls. She lifted the box and hurried back into the living room. 

She started with the small things first. Quickly, and not so effienctly, pinning up ballons and ribbons to help brighten up the room. She eyed the large banner at the bottom of the box and her panic fueled brain urged her to get that done next, the need for everything to be up taking over any common sense she had left. It was a simple white banner with ‘Happy Birtthday Loke’ on it, but it sure was long. She should have had plenty of time to put it up along the back wall, but now she was fighting the clock. 

The first side had been fine but for some reason, she just couldn’t get the over side to hang up. She was shaking slightly on her step ladder as she did her best to tie the banner around the nail she’d hammered into the wall. She was getting frustrated, fingers clumsy as she failed to tie a simple, stupid knot. She could scream, she was incredibly tempted to. Instead she squashed all that down, taking a deep breath and zoning in on the knot, focusing solely on tying it. So invested in her knot tying, it caught her off guard when her timer went off.

She jumped at the loud noise echoing throughout the home, slipping off the steps on the ladder.. Falling backwards, she flailed to hold onto something, but all she got was rope burn as she clung to it as she fell. She landed harshly on her back, pain shooting through her nerves and setting her back on fire. Her actions brought the banner down with her, It gently covered her and she felt like screaming, she was close enough to. She pushed the banner off her, doing her best to try and stand up, she needed to get to the cake! But her back disagreed, twinging with shock and pain, it refused her, forcing her to stay there on the ground until it recovered. That would take too long! Her cake would be burned, she couldn’t give Loke a burnt cake! He was going to be so disappointed in her, so upset that she’d messed up so badly. 

Her brain spiraled downward quickly as her mind was filled with images of a super angry Loke. The tears were at the corner of her eyes, stress, pain, fatigue and self doubt mixing together into a dangerous cocktail of self hate.

“Lucy, are you alright?”

She looked up to see Loke’s upside down face, staring down at her in open concern. Her saviour! There was still time! She pointed to the kitchen, trying to urge him along.

“The oven! The timer surprised me! Take out the cake before it burns down the house!”

He jumped, startled by her harsh tone, before scampering away. The loud beeping going along in the background stopped as he turned off the timer, thank the stars for that. It was making her headache so much worse. She heard clamouring in the kitchen before he let out a soft curse. 

She groaned, not looking forward to this, but she needed to see. She forced herself up, her back still yelling at her but able to move now, it was definitely going to bruise tomorrow. She slowly made her way over to him, watching him place the cake, fully plated, onto the table by the wine. The outside was very clearly burned, stained a dark brown and she broke. It wasn’t exactly fun to cry in front of him, but all her bottled up feelings throughout the day, where she wanted to yell but swallowed it down instead poured out of her. She couldn’t fight it, everything had gone so wrong, she couldn’t even make a stupid cake properly!

He had bolted into action, removing his oven gloves to rush over to her and hold her close, wary of her back. At his show of understanding and kindness, the feelings got worse, sharper as they stabbed into her chest and she wailed. Crying deeply into his shirt and not caring that she was making it incredibly wet. He surprisingly let her, standing firm for her and whispering gentle, soothing words as she slowly started to calm down. To the point there were no more tears, just desperate gasps of air. 

“Shhh, ok now Lucy, it’s ok. I need you to breathe with me, can you do that?”

He started to take slow, deep breaths and she did her best to copy him. Through the sniffles and hiccups she eventually calmed down, matching his breath for breath. Her heartbeat soothed into a normal rhythm, though her energy had fully depleted at this point. She slumped against him and he softly guided her to sitting down on a chair by the table. He stood beside her, giving her a moment to recover before he spoke up.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

She wasn’t sure he was expecting her to unload on him, but he’d given her an open invitation and she needed to get today off her chest. She rambled through the day, about how it had started so smooth then gotten progressively worse. He listened intently as he moved over to the cake. He nodded along and spoke up as he looked for a small plate in her cupboards. She was getting to the part about his gift when he cut into the cake, getting himself a slice, causing her to pause.

“You know that’s burnt right?”

“Hm?” He gave her a quick look, before taking a large bite out of the cake, nodding to himself as he swallowed it. “It’s as I thought. The top is a little tough, but the inside is still soft and tasty! This is great Lucy”

He continued munching on his cake, humming in his joy and she almost wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the whole thing. Or maybe that had been the point.

“You don’t have to eat that you know?”

“If you won’t I’ll eat the whole thing. You made this for me with your best efforts, under high pressure, yes?”

“Yeah?”

“Then I’m going to inhale it and enjoy it and you can't stop me. I won’t make light of your feelings”

To emphasize his point, he finished off the slice in one last bite, licking the crumbs off his fingers. She snorted, before laughing, the relief she needed after such an awful day. Her chest felt light, even as he cut himself yet another slice. 

“You’re an idiot, you know that? Don’t get food poisoning on my account”

“I won’t because this has been baked perfectly. Anyway I’m your idiot so it’s fine. Though I’m not silly to have not noticed the mention of a gift?”

He raised an eyebrow at her expectantly and she sighed. Reaching into her pocket to pull out a box, she hoped he liked it. She went to stand up but he put his plate down, moving to be by her side instead.

“Ah, ah, the princess doesn’t need to stand. I’ll happily accept it here”

“...if you insist”

She’d wanted the extra moments to build up her courage, but he was right there and it was too late for that now. She handed it over and he grinned at the colour choice for the wrapping before eagerly tearing into it. He let out a soft gasp at the velvet box, before slowly opening it up. He tilted his head when he saw what was inside.

“A pocket watch? It’s beautiful Lucy, but why?”

He pulled out the golden chain, revealing the golden watch. The head of a lion had been inscribed into the front. On the inside of the cover, the names of his stars circled the edge. Beneath the black numbers was a picture of Earthland with the continents dedicatedly inscribed on it. The clock face didn’t just have the time, it also had the day month and year represented by small numbers in the middle of the face. It had cost her quite a few jewels but was undoubtedly worth it. Now she needed him to see that. 

“A suit without a rose, handkerchief or pocket watch in its chest pocket is highly unfashionable Loke, I expected better from you”

“You’re right, how awful of me” He chuckled, shaking his head as he examined the watch, interest caught by a small slider on it’s side. “What’s this?”

“Well that’s what makes it a one of a kind. I needed Capricorn’s help to infuse Celestial magic into it but go ahead and slide it”

He looked to her for more information, but receiving none he slid the slider down, amazing at the small light shining from the face of the clock. The time changed, as did the date. The numbers turned gold as the picture behind morphed into a starry sky. He stared at it in awe.

“What is…?”

“It tells the time in both worlds. This way you can tell if it’s a good time to visit me. If I tell you certain hours you can't visit, the rest is fair game right? Now you won’t have to constantly mentally do the conversion and worry that you got it wrong”

She felt proud of her gift, especially since that had been a very vocal worry of his. Understanding dawned on him as he gently closed the watched, placing it in his chest pocket and patting it reverently.

“I’ll treasure it forever Lucy...Though I must ask, is this an invitation to visit more often?”

“Yes, yes it is”

That was what the gift had been about, she didn’t want him to be confused about this. She was giving him her express permission to use his power to visit her whenever he wanted, as long as it was a reasonable time of the day. He beamed at her, doing nothing to hide how excited he was.

“Oh this is going to be great. We’re going to hang out so much, you’ll be sick of the sight of me. Or perhaps, fall madly in love with me”

“I’m already in love with you!”

“I know and isn’t that the most amazing thing?”

He sighed deeply, a hand over his heart and a goofy grin on his face. He was so lovesick, but it was kinda cute. 

“It’s amazing that you love me, despite my clumsiness”

He scoffed, waving away the mere notion of not loving her.

“You’re an amazing angel sent to grace this Earth with your perfection, of course I love you. As proof, may I mention that because this is filled with Celestial magic it boosts my own? I’m certain you planned that”

“I did, I want you to visit more and be able to stay for longer...if it tires you out though you don’t have to”

He looked torn between hugging her tightly and being respectful of her injuries. Torn between loving and protecting her. He compromised by dragging a chair next to her and sitting down, taking her hand in his.

“Of course I want to. You put a lot of thought into today, even though I didn’t need all of this. Just a day with you was enough”

“I wanted it to be special though”

“Suggesting every moment with you isn’t special?”

She blushed at his words, knowing he meant every single one of them. 

“Well if you don’t want to follow my plans I guess we shouldn’t continue onto the last part of my plan for your day”

His eyes widened at the knowledge that there was more, stunned by how much she was treating him. 

“No, no, please. What else do you want to do?”

“Well, we have you favourite wine right here”

He shot it a quick glance, humming appreciatively.

“Yes we do, but I would prefer to get drunk by looking into your eyes, thank you for the offer though”

“Silly” She patted his head, enjoying the feel of his hair running through her fingers. He leaned into her touch automatically, always enjoying being closer to her. “I wanted us to go outside with the wine and cake and watch your stars appear”

He looked out her window, a secret smile on his face as a plot seemed to come to mind. This was dangerous territory.

“What a great idea Lucy, let’s do it. There’s no need for you to stand though, I’ll help you!”

She was startled by him picking her up. Letting out a small yell as he carried her bridal style.

“Hold on Lucy!”

She did as he asked as he ran to the window and jumped through it. She barely held back a scream as he landed on the slanted front to the roof. He quickly used his momentum to jump upward, easily clearing the rest of the house and landing on the flat top of her roof. He gently placed her down so she was sitting on the stone, before straightening back up again. 

“One moment my princess! Your knight will be right back”

The yell in the back of her throat had to be held back as he simply jumped off the side of the roof, presumably bouncing back into her living room. A moment later and he returned with the cake in one hand, glasses in the other and a bottle of wine under his arm. The crumbs around his lips suggested he had quickly stuffed down the second slice he’d cut, not wanting to just leave it. She felt a little pleased that he wanted to eat her baking, even if it was a little off. He placed them beside her before sitting down himself, little out a small sigh of relief at getting to rest after his quick acrobatics. He raised an arm out to the sky.

“Best seat in the house eh Lucy? Or should that be out of it?”

She rolled her eyes, ignoring him as she faced the orange sky, slowly darkening as time pushed on. This was quite the view.

“As long as you can get me down, then yeah, this is a beautiful view”

He scooted closer, wrapping an arm round her waist.

“Of course I can. Though this view is nothing compared to you, it’s the best I can do on such short notice”

She snorted, resting her head against his shoulder. He was such a dork. But she loved him, so what did that say about her? Today hadn’t gone exactly as she wanted, but she couldn’t deny that the ending was well worth the rest of it. He could be so romantic when he wanted to. As the sun continued to set, the brightness of the day melting into softer shades and shadows, she tilted her head upwards. He naturally looked down to face her and she leaned forward to capture his lips in a surprise kiss. A gentle soft kiss, one she poured her love into. He slowly kissed her back as they relaxed against each other. They pulled apart but didn’t go far, wearing matching lovestruck grins.

“Happy Birthday Loke”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we come to the end of the week! Balancing work, life and writing a chapter a day was a difficult experiance, but it was fun! Now to relax a little then continuing my other stories!

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone has any prompts they want to see fufilled, feel free to comment.


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